The Head Hunter

"the Head Hunter" is a 2019 fantasy horror film that was directed, co-written, produced, and edited by Jordan Downy. Simply put the movie follows a medieval warrior (Christopher Rygh) who is collecting heads of the monsters he slays all on the search for the one who killed his daughter.

Right off the bat I will say this is one of if not my favorite horror movie of 2019. "the Head Hunter" was shot on a micro-budget of about $30,000, and with this budget it delivers such a beautifully haunting work. It clocks in at about 70 minutes, but manages to pace its-self consistently without feeling rushed. There is roughly a cast of 3 people and from what I can gather a very limited crew. For normal films this would be a huge setback but Jordan Downy manages to create an immersive environment that truly builds horrifying tension throughout.

SPOILER ALERT!!! 

The plot of this movie becomes repetitive, in essence we follow the warrior throughout the film hunting monsters, killing said monsters, and attending to his wounds with a sort of magic mud that heals him almost instantly. Eventually he finds the creature who killed his daughter and slays it, before pinning the head on his wall he throws it in his home and spends a moment at his daughters grave. In a manner of circumstance, his healing mud  comes in contact with the creatures head, and we see the creature cause mayhem. Our finale is super messed up: The head attaches itself to the daughters corpse and fights the warrior. When the warrior finally removes the head again and brings it home we get a twist ending of  the head not being dead and taking over our protagonist.

Many people didn't love the conclusion but for me it was a good callback to the classic "THE END?" moments of old school monster movies and was a satisfying end to an excellent movie.

Christopher Rygh gives a fantastic performance as the warrior we follow throughout this movie. He is grizzled, tormented, and monstrous in his own right. I was able to feel his sorrow and determination to atone for the loss of his daughter.

I would be crazy if I didn't mention Troy Smith's creature effects featured in this movie. I loved them, each head that the warrior puts up on his mantle looks completely over the top but fits in the realm of the world Downy builds. I never once questioned that any creature in this was real.

I LOVE this movie, I bought it on a whim because the trailer looked interesting but god damn did it surpass my expectations!

I give "the Head Hunter" a solid 5/5 on the patented Monster Meter!

"the Head Hunter" is currently available on SHUDDER to stream so GO WATCH IT!!